Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,2.1
॥
Devanāgarī
देवासुराः ह वै यत्र संयेतिरे उभये प्राजापत्याः तद् ध देवाः उद्गीथम् आजह्रुः अनेन एनान् अभिभविष्यामः इति
Transliteration (IAST)
devāsurāḥ ha vai yatra saṃyetire ubhaye prājāpatyāḥ tad dha devāḥ udgītham ājahruḥ anena enān abhibhaviṣyāmaḥ iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
देवासुराःdevāsurāḥthe gods and the asuras; the devas and their adversaries
हhaindeed; surely
वैvaiverily; indeed
यत्रyatrawhere; when
संयेतिरेsaṃyetirethey contended (sam-√yat); they entered into contest; they came to grips
उभयेubhayeboth kinds; both sides
प्राजापत्याःprājāpatyāḥthe descendants of Prajāpati (prājāpatya); Prajāpati's own; children of the Lord of creatures
तद्tadthat; this
धdhasurely; indeed
देवाःdevāḥthe gods; divine powers
उद्गीथम्udgīthamthe udgītha; the exalted chant
आजह्रुःājahruḥthey took up (ā-√hṛ, perfect); they had recourse to; they brought
अनेनanenaby this; by means of this
एनान्enānof them; of these
अभिभविष्यामःabhibhaviṣyāmaḥwe shall overcome; we shall surpass
इतिitithus; how
Translation
When the gods and the asuras — both descendants of Prajāpati — joined battle, the gods took up the udgītha: "By this we shall overcome them."
Version
438a05592c38 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The parable of the war over the udgītha begins. devāsurā ha vai yatra saṁyetire — "when the gods and the asuras contended": and the Upaniṣad at once states their kinship: ubhaye prājāpatyāḥ — "both are Prajāpati's": light and darkness are brothers, children of one Father; the war of good and evil is creation's civil war, waged, as the parable will show, inside every organ of every one of us.
tad dha devā udgītham ājahruḥ — "then the gods took up the udgītha": the weapon chosen is a chant! Not a thunderbolt, not a mace, but the lifting of sound: anena enān abhibhaviṣyāma iti — "by this we shall overcome them". The gods of the Chāndogya wage war with liturgy: against disintegration, the order of a song; against chaos, harmony. Next it will be shown where that weapon has its vulnerable points — and where its invulnerable edge lies.